For this edition of Think Tank, The Apollos asked the Smitty community its thoughts on the use of lead ammunition, and whether or not the college should ban the storage, possession, and use of lead ammunition on Paul Smith’s property/ land. This is what you all had to say on the subject:
Yes. Lead is neurotoxin that should not be willfully or incidentally introduced to the environment, especially in such a way that makes uptake by wildlife easy and likely, as the case with lead ammunition.
–Ethan Schwed
The college should most definitely ban the use of lead ammunition and lead fishing equipment. It should not even be a question up for debate, lead is toxic and needs to be completely removed from the equation. I feel as though lead should just be outlawed straight up from everything, it should not be allowed to be used in anything at all. It is absurd to me, that as a so-called intelligent species, we find out about things like lead killing vast numbers of wildlife and poisoning ourselves but yet we still are not collectively sure if we should keep using it or not; ridiculous. It is a no brainer, no lead. People should be happy to pay a little extra for ammo that comes with the responsible piece of mind of not contributing to the needless suffering of animals or the poisoning of ourselves.
–Matthew Wedge
I think a positive, informational approach would fare better than a negative approach banning lead ammunition. Lead ammunition is terrible for the environment, but people can get really touchy about outright banning things, especially in the current culture surrounding guns. We’re an environmentally-oriented school, and people here genuinely want to help the environment. Giving people information and telling them why they should make a beneficial switch might have a better outcome than a ban.
–Jared Barnhart
Get rid of it!
–Bre-Ann Flouton Johnson
I just took up shooting clays and skeet as a hobby. I love it, and am committed to moving to all lead free ammo. I realize some options are more expensive, and you have to be careful that the shotgun you favor can handle steel shot if that is what you choose — but it simply makes sense to protect the wildlife and environment around us. It’s already illegal to use lead shot for waterfowl, so it seems logical to move toward all lead free.
–Ray Agnew